After Hours
by dlz
Summary: AR/MM. Lois decides to investigate someone involved with Lex and things go wrong. Clark saves her, but no one can save him from her. All the chapters beta checked! Complete! R
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: After Hours  
**Author**: Danielle  
**Disclaimer: **I own nothing  
**Summary**: Lois decides to investigate someone involved with Lex and things go wrong. Clark saves her, but no one can save him from her.  
**Author's Notes**: Okay, this is a little old. It was written after Solitude. It´s my try to bring on some detective stories with Lois and Clark. I hope you like it! _Thank you MadDogLane for beta-reading this and the rest of the chapters!

* * *

_

**CHAPTER 1**

_Metropolis, Daily Planet_

"I´m sorry Lois, but I really have to finish this article for today or--"

"I know, I know. Or Kahn is gonna kill you" Lois completed the sentence for her. She was sitting in front of Chloe, using another computer on an empty desk to read her e-mails.

"We can go out tomorrow, what do you think?" Chloe said, a little sorry for having to refuse her invitation to go out.

"You know, Chlo, I really hope you don't become one of those workaholic female reporters who doesn't have her own life and are just interested in winning some Pulitzer Prizes while waiting for their supermen to arrive from somewhere!" Lois joked.

Chloe smiled.

"Don't worry, Lo. It won't happen" she said, standing up with a file in her hands. "With you around me, I doubt that it even _could_ happen!"

Lois smiled back.

"Do you see now? That's why I'm so important here!"

"Okay" Chloe said, checking the file. She looked worried with the article. "You're gonna stay here?"

"Wow. Are you banishing me, Chlo?"

"No" she smiled, surprised with her cousin's reaction. "I have to go to the copy room" she said, showing her the file and how many copies she had to do.

"Oh. That's too bad!" Lois said, looking how big the file was. "Is anything wrong if I stay a little bit? I'd like to check these e-mails first" Lois asked.

"No problem, Lo" Chloe answered with a smile.

Minutes later, Chloe's cell phone started to ring in her desk. Lois didn't care till the moment it seemed to her it wouldn't stop. Then she extended her arm to get the mobile and saw in its display that it was an unidentified call.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Meet me in the terrace of the abandoned building next to The Ace O' Clubs in thirty minutes" a guy said with a husky voice.

"Wait a minute, I'm not--"

"Thirty minutes" he repeated. "And I guarantee that what I have to offer to you about Lex Luthor will finish his campaign to the Senate"

Then, the line went dead.

Shocked, Lois stood up immediately and went to the copy room to find Chloe and tell her the news. But she didn't find her cousinanywhere. When she tried the elevators, a security guard hindered her:

"Hey, you don't work here", he told her.

"I'm a visitor" she said, showing her card.

"I'm sorry" he warned her, pointing to an advertising plate next to the elevator doors which said 'Restricted access to employees'. "It is the rule".

"What a stupid rule!" Lois protested, crossing her arms.

The security guard didn't care about her objection and Lois looked again at her cousin's cell phone. It was something related to Lex Luthor, so, she thought, it was her interest too. Making him lose the election was her biggest objective these days. Then, she looked at her watch. Time was running out.

TBC

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

_Metrópolis, Suicide Slum _

_Minutes later..._

Lois parked her car next to an alley not too far from Hob's Bay. Because she had never been there before, she looked worried. She knew the fame of Suicide Slum. Everybody knew. It was the most dangerous neighborhood of the City of Tomorrow.

"I can't believe this. You must be crazy, Lois!" she said to herself.

Suddenly, she heard two people talking in front of a bar next of the alley.

"What about my money?" one of them asked to another.

"I don't have it!" the other guy answered.

"Definitely, this is not for me!" she said, going back to her car, when she finally saw the abandoned building two blocks away.

Lois smiled. She was in the right place. The Ace O' Clubs could be not so far from where she was. An anxiety possessed her. Something stronger than her was pushing her to advance. Thoughtfully, she looked at her car, then at her watch and finally at the abandoned building. Lois took out her cell phone and tried again to call to her cousin. It was still without a signal. But she believed Chloe may have already read the note she left on her desk. So, she took a deep breath and decided to go inside.

First of all, she checked to see if the two men were still there. They weren't. Then, Lois walked down the street, as fast as she could, crossing with bad looking guys and some hookers. And when she finally saw The Ace O' Clubs, she smiled triumphantly.

"Not too bad" she whispered to herself.

Lois looked around and then she saw the abandoned building. There it was. The same one she had seen two blocks behind. It was as tall as she imagined with its five floors and no windows. It was in pieces and in danger of collapsing.

It must be that one, she thought, running in its direction. With a small push, Lois broke the lateral's humidified wooden door. It was not completely dark inside, because it was still daylight.

The place was in ruins, and as Lois looked around, and she didn't see anything, except the gratings of an old elevator and a declining stairwell. She crossed her arms, as if it was cold, but it wasn't. The place was scary. Even for Lois.

Suddenly, she heard a big racket. It was the elevator. Lois approached and saw that the elevator was coming down noisily. She imagined that the person who made the call was already in the terrace and sent the elevator for her. When the elevator stopped, Lois opened its grating and looked up to the top. But there wasn't anything to be seen from where she was. And there wasn't any other way, except to go up. Lois entered in the elevator, and breathed deeply as she pressed the button to the last floor.

* * *

_Smallville, Kent Farm_

_Meanwhile..._

"Chloe!" Martha said after picking up the phone.

Clark was sitting next her, at the kitchen table.

"Oh, yes. He's right here" she said looking at her son. "It's for you, Clark"

"Chloe?" he asked, surprised. "How're you doing?"

"I need your help, Clark" she said, holding Lois' note. "I think Lois is in danger"

Clark looked at to his mother eyes and Martha immediately perceived that there was something wrong.

* * *

_Metropolis, Daily Planet_

_Seconds later..._

"She left this note" Chloe said, showing it to Clark.

"I went to meet your contact to find out something about Lex. Call you later, Lois" he read.

Chloe watched him.

"Do you have a contact with information about Lex?" he asked.

"No way" she answered. "And that's the problem"

"Is Lois nuts or what?" he asked, examining both sides of the note. "She didn't even leave any address!"

"And her cell phone is out of area" Chloe completed.

"How long has it been since she left?" he asked.

"I don't know. But the security guard said she tried to use the elevators thirty minutes ago" she said.

Chloe was very worried when she finally smiled.

"How could I forget?"

"What?" he asked confused, while Chloe went to the computer.

"Lois' vehicle has GPS Tracker" she answered, checking it in the computer.

"Suicide Slum?" he asked when appeared in the monitor the tracking result. "Isn't that the violent neighborhood next to Hob's Bay?"

"I have a bad feeling about this" Chloe said.

And Clark had a bad feeling too. Because he knew more than anyone else that anything related to Lex could mean danger.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

_Metrópolis, Suicide Slum _

_Meanwhile..._

When Lois arrived at the last floor, she saw the stairs to the rooftop. And because she was already there, she decided to take her chances.

Carefully, she turned the door handle and took a look outside. There wasn't anything to be seen, except the view of the ugly part of Metropolis.

Then, she took a deep breath and went forward.

"Hello? Is there anybody here?" she asked.

Suddenly, something happened so fast she could not avoid it. Somebody came behind her and grabbed her by the neck.

Lois tried to turn her eyes to see something, but she could only see the knife pointed to her jugular vein.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Lois recognized the husky voice from the phone call.

"Wait a minute! We can solve this friendly!" she said, holding his arm with both hands.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

"Has your mother never taught you manners?" she asked as she twisted his arm back and kicked him in the stomach.

Then, Lois was face to face with her agressor and she saw he was using a mask and gloves.

"'Cause I think you really need some lessons" she finished.

He was still holding the knife and Lois didn't think twice. She kicked his hand. But when he dropped the knife, he took out a gun which was hidden in his coat.

"You came really prepared" she said, looking at the gun in his hand and preparing herself for another fight.

"Lois!" somebody called a few floors below.

It was a familiar voice.

It was Clark's.

"Here on the rooftop!" she yelled.

While she was distracted with Clark, the stranger pushed her away, picked up the knife and ran as quickly as he could to the railing. Lois tried to reach him, but it was too late. He jumped into the next building. Shocked, Lois ran over to the railing, and saw something incredible. '_That jump was practically impossible!_', she thought.

"Lois!" Clark called, as he ran up to her. "Are you okay?"

He didn't see the stranger.

Surprised with Clark's speed, Lois had just one thing in mind:

"We have to reach him!" she said, pointing to the guy who was now running across the rooftop of the building he had jumped into.

Clark saw him, looked up at the top of the building and calculated the distance for a jump. Then he felt Lois' hand on his arm.

"Are you crazy, Smallville?" she asked. "You don't fly, remember? Let's try the elevator. It's safer!"

"Who's that guy?" Clark asked after closing the elevator's grating.

"I have no idea" she answered, frantically pushing the button to the entryway floor as if by doing that they could arrive faster. "But we can't lose him!"

"I think we should call the cops--" he suggested.

Suddenly, the elevator stopped between the tenth and ninth floors.

"What was that?" she asked, worried.

"I don't know" he answered.

They both looked at the top and saw the hatch above them. And when Clark opened it to climb out, there was a big racket and the elevator shook.

"Wait a minute!" she said, pulling him by his coat as he was climbing through the hatch to the top of the elevator.

Clark came back, and saw Lois pushing all the buttons from the control panel.

"Lois... I'm sorry to tell you this, but there's no one else in the building" he said, imagining that she was trying to find the emergency button.

"There must be a way to make this damn elevator work again!" she said, ignoring his comment.

"It's an old building. I have to try something else" he said, climbing the hatch again.

"Are you crazy, Smallville?" she asked, pulling him back again.

He turned to see her face.

"What?" he asked.

"This thing could crash down at any time!" she said.

"Okay. Do you have a better idea?" he asked.

"Sure. Call Chloe" she suggested.

There was a silence.

"I don't have my cell phone with me" he said, finally.

"What? You come to this end of the world with no cell phone?" she asked, furious.

Clark faced her, thoughtful.

"And how did you find me, by the way?" she asked, curious.

Then, there was another silent moment.

"At least I found you" he answered.

Lois smiled, confused.

"Okay. Let's solve this" she said, climbing the gratings of the elevator door to reach the hatch.

"What are you doing?" Clark asked, confused. It was the same thing he was trying to do before.

"Give me a hand here, Smallville" she asked, while opening the hatch again.

Infuriated, Clark approached and helped her get to the top. But as soon as Lois touched the roof of the elevator, it began to shake violently. Then she fell ungracefully on Clark.

They were face to face and looked at each other's eyes, completely embarrassed with the situation.

Lois stood up as fast as she could.

"What did you do?" she asked, furious.

"I didn't do anything! It's all your fault!" he answered equally furious.

"What did you say?" she asked while Clark was standing up, meeting his eyes with hers.

"You shouldn't be here alone!" he answered.

"C'mon, Smallville! If is somebody's fault, it's all yours!"

Clark faced her again, complety confused. How could she say that she didn't need to be saved?

"I was doing a great job up there! If you hadn't appeared, I'd have found out something about that guy!" she finished.

"Really? I mean, it seemed to me that you could have been shot up there, Lois. 'Cause I don't know if you saw, but that guy was carrying a gun" Clark said. "Or what else do you think a strange guy could be doing on the rooftop of an abandoned building in Suicide Slum?"

Lois crossed her arms, furious.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot--" Clark continued sarcastically "He was also wearing a mask and gloves. I imagine that he wasn't protecting himself from the snow, _since we're still in the middle of Summer's heat." _

"You're so irritating, Smallville" she said.

Clark rolled his eyes. It was waste of time to argue with Lois.

"At least, we have Chloe. She knows exactly where we are--" she said.

But Lois looked at Clark's face and what she saw wasn't a good expression.

"Wait a minute. She knows where we are, doesn't she?" she asked.

Clark didn't answer. Chloe only knew where Lois' car was. And it was a few blocks from where they were. And Clark only found Lois with his super-hearing.

"This is a nightmare!" Lois said, sitting on elevator's floor.

Clark examined the elevator again. There wasn't anything he could do without his powers. And he couldn't expose himself in front of Lois. There wasn't anything to be done except wait.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

_Minutes later..._

"What happened up there anyway?" Clark asked while Lois opened the control panel for the third time to try to find some button to make the elevator work again.

"I already told you, Smallville" she said, impatiently.

"Are you sure you didn't forget to tell me anything?" he insisted.

Lois faced him, irritated.

"The guy freaked out when he saw I wasn't Chloe. Then, he jumped into the next building like a flying squirrel. What else do you want to know?" she answered.

"What could he want with Chloe?" asked Clark, thoughtful. He couldn't imagine that Chloe was Lex Luthor's target, after all, the shady times had finished for his friend, _or had they_?

"I know what you're thinking about, Smallville. But forget it" Lois said.

Clark looked at her, confused.

"He didn't seem like a mercenary contracted by the fertilizers' magnate. I'm pretty sure he wants to help us unmask Lex and take him out of the Senate race" she said.

Clark didn't say anything. Lois was too optomistic for his liking.

"You said you didn't see his face, right?" he asked.

"That's right" she answered, leaving the panel to look at his face.

"I don't know, Lois. It's too weird" he said.

"No, it's not" she disagreed.

Clark looked at her, curious.

"I thought he was Chloe's source about the Luthors" she explained.

"But he isn't" Clark interrupted.

"I imagined that when I saw he was wearing mask and gloves. And when I saw he was also armed, everything made sense" she completed.

"Sorry, Lois. But did I miss something?" Clark asked, confused about her discovery.

"He's terrified, Smallville" she said.

"Terrified?" Clark repeated. "Are you okay, Lois? Did you hit your head or something like that? 'Cause that doesn't make any sense to me--"

"He knows something about Lex. Something big" she finally said.

"Sorry to disappoint you again, but he didn't seem to me like a trustworthy source. Someone who uses a mask is usually hiding something" Clark said, not convinced of Lois' theory.

"It's not about confidence, Smallville. He knows something about Lex and he wants to share it with someone else. So, we finally have a chance to prove that Lex is dirty--"

"I don't agree with you, Lois. He could have hurt you"

Tired, Lois sat down on the floor.

Clark took advantage of the situation to check the entire place with his x-ray vision . But there wasn't any way to get out. They were locked in. The only thing he could do was to break the elevator's door with his super strength.

Then, he looked at Lois, and sat down on the floor in front of her. But she was too irritated to look at him. She just turned her face to avoid him. She acted like it was his fault that they were there.

"I thought you had quit" he said, suddenly.

"Had quit what?" she asked.

"Investigating Lex" he answered.

"Never" she said.

"Why? I mean... it's dangerous"

"Maybe you're satisfied with the world you live in, where people like the master of fraud leads with his dirt, involving innocent people, but I'm not" she said.

Surprised with Lois' words, Clark smiled bitterly.

"I'm not a conformist, Lois. I'm just--" he tried to explain.

"I don't understand you, Smallville. You have been friends with Lex for so long. How could you never see how cruel his intentions are?"

"You're exaggerating, Lois--" he said.

"You can't be serious, Smallville!" she protested. "It's amazing your skill of seeing good in people but it doesn't work with Mr Arrogant"

"Lex is just a little lost" he tried to explain.

"I don't think so. It's pretty clear to me that he knows exactly where he's going " she disagreed.

Clark didn't say anything. He thought that, in a certain sense, she was right.

"Why don't you leave this to the police, Lois? It's too risky" he warned her.

Lois smiled.

"Do you really believe Uncle Fester can be touched by the police? He has money, Smallville. He can buy anything, even the police" she said.

"But there are good people who can't be bought--"

"We're not in Kansas anymore, Smallville. This is the big city, where people and situations are very different from where you came from" she explained.

"Um. So, the armed guy in the roof is more trustworthy than police?" Clark asked, cynically.

"I didn't say that. The fact that he was armed just prove my theory that he's desperate, Smallville. Or why would he want to meet a Daily Planet trainee in a place like this?" Lois asked, suggesting something else.

"That's the point, Lois!" Clark said. "It's just a theory! We don't know anything about this guy--"

"Okay, Clark. What do you suggest?" she asked, irritated.

"I have no idea" he answered.

"I should know that!" she said. "And it's your fault that we lost the only guy who could answer all our questions!"

"My fault?" he asked, confused.

"Didn't you know? I don't need a full time hero to save me, Smallville! I know exactly what to do in complicated situations!" she stood up.

"Really? Like this one?" he stood up too.

"Do you want to know what? I won't stay here with you anymore, while a big story is escaping from us!" she said, trying again to climb into the hatch.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "You could fall!"

"Don't be such a scaredy-cat, Smallville, and come on!" she said, reaching the top.

Clark rolled his eyes, and followed her up.

Suddenly, when they reached the elevator's roof, something happened. There was a big noise and the elevator shook violently. They looked at each other and Lois tried to open the door to the tenth floor. But it didn't move.

"Let me try" he said, pushing her away.

Then, the elevator shook again.

"I think it won't support us any longer!" she said, worried.

Clark used his super-strength and opened the door and under Lois eyes, he explained:

"Rust"

Lois went out first, and when both of them left the elevator there was another big noise and the elevator fell down.

Surprised, they looked at each other.

"Too close, huh?" she said, smiling.

Clark didn't say anything. It wasn't funny. But Lois stood up and went to the stairs.

It was night when they finally left the building, and they knew there wasn't any chance of finding the masked man.

They walked down the street to get Lois' car in the alley where she left it but when they finally arrived there, the car wasn't there anymore.

"I can't believe!" she yelled.

"Did you really leave your car here? In this alley? Are you crazy?" he asked, surprised.

"Are you seeing any five star parking here?"

"So, let's take a cab" he suggested.

"In Suicide Slum? Impossible! Even the taxi drivers avoid this place" she said.

"Yeah. You should have thought about that before leaving your car here" he replied.

Lois ignored him, and asked for some money.

"Well, I just have some change"

"Some change, Smallville? How can you come to Metropolis carrying just some change?" she asked, perplexed.

Lois took Clark's change and ran over to the corner, where there was a telephone.

"Who are you calling?" he asked coming up next to her.

"Chloe" she answered, waiting on the line. "But I think she left the Planet"

"Try her cell phone" he suggested.

Lois tried it, but it was out of area.

"We're all by ourselves, Smallville" she said.

"Are we?" he asked.

Lois didn't answer him and walked away. Clark followed her and asked:

"Where are you going?"

"We have to find a cab" she answered.

"Really? I thought it was impossible to find one in this place" he said.

Lois rolled her eyes and turned to look at him.

"Are you coming or not, Smallville?"

Clark shook his head, and accompanied Lois.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"Lois, we've been here for almost an hour" Clark said, looking at his watch. He was sitting down on a bus station bench, while Lois was looking at the corner.

"This is a stupid bus station" she said, suddenly. "A bus has to pass by here!"

Clark took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. If it wasn't for Lois, he could have been in Smallville hours ago, and with Chloe's help, he could have already discovered who the man was on the abandoned building's roof and what he really wanted.

"If you had more coins, it would have given us enough time for the taxi service's operator to catch the address of where we are" she said, sounding irritated and without facing him.

"Are you out of your mind, Lois?" he asked, perplexed. "If you hadn't parked in that alley, we wouldn't be here now!"

"It was an emergency, Smallville. Didn't you ever have one?" she defended herself.

"There's a big difference between emergency and madness" he said. "You could have been hurt"

"Again, Smallville?" she asked, facing him with crossed arms. "I wish you were not here! By the way, you still didn't say how you found me"

"Um, er--" he stuttered.

"Not even Chloe knew where I was!" she said.

Clark was thoughtful. He didn't have any idea of what to say.

"How _did_ you find me?" she insisted.

Clark didn't say anything.

"And I'm the crazy one!" she completed, sure that he wouldn't answer her.

Lois turned around and looked at again at the corner, hoping to see a bus coming.

"And this situation isn't so horrible" she said. "We're adults and we're in a dangerous neighborhood. But we're still in Metropolis! We can find a way to get out of here!" Lois faced Clark.

"How?" he asked.

"Walking!" she answered, smiling.

"I don't think this is a good idea" he replied, worried. They had gotten through many things that night. First, the incident on the roof. Then, the elevator. And finally, the stolen car. He didn't want to see Lois involved in another dangerous situation.

But Lois didn't care. And when Clark turned around to look at her, she was walking away.

"Lois!" he called. "Where are you going"

"As far as I can away from here!" she answered, continuing on her way.

Clark didn't move. He imagined she would give up when arriving in the next corner, and would come back. Then again, he thought...it was Lois Lane. She never gave up.

When Lois saw Clark wasn't with her, she stopped in the middle of the street and turned back to look at him.

"Well, are you coming or not?"

Clark took a deep breath and looked at again at the corner, where it seemed that a bus should be coming from. Lois was right. They could stay there all night long. So, he decided to follow her, without knowing where.

Minutes later, they walked side by side, but with a significant distance between them.

"Chloe must be searching for us" she commented, finally.

"If you had said where you went, she'd have already found us" he replied, ironically.

Suddenly, Lois stopped walking. When Clark saw that she wasn't next to him anymore, he also stopped, turned around and looked at her.

"I don't need a boy scout to protect me" she said. "In fact, I don't need anybody to take care of me. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. But I already said this to you, didn't I?"

"Lois, I didn't--"

"I didn't finish, Smallville" she interrupted. "You're the most arrogant and egoistic person I've ever met--"

Clark wrinkled his forehead, surprised at her commentary.

"I really don't understand what Chloe saw in you--" she added.

Suddenly, something happened. An armed man emerged from the shadows of the alley next to where Lois and Clark were, and pointed his gun at Lois' head. He was too fast even for Clark, who could do nothing without putting Lois in danger. If he used his powers, he could be exposed.

"The wallet and the watch" he demanded to Clark, who raised his hands.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do this" she said.

"Shut up, lady!" he ordered. "It's your head my gun is aimed at!"

Lois and Clark looked at each other and before he could realize she was planning to do something, it was too late. Lois grasped the man by the arm and kicked him in the stomach with her knee. Then, she punched his face and pushed him back into the alley.

"Let's get out of here!" she said, pulling Clark by the hand and running away.

"We have to call the cops!" he protested, looking at the alley, where the robber twisted in pain.

"Are you crazy, Smallville? Cops don't help in this neighborhood!" she replied, while they ran.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

A long walk later, Lois was tired and Clark, irritated.

"I can't call my parents, 'cause they are in Granville. But you can still call your father, Lois. He may send someone to meet us and--" Clark suggested.

"No way, Smallville!" she interrupted him. "To him, just being in this part of town would be a good reason for a Court Martial!"

Clark rolled his eyes.

"Why are you always exaggerating about your dad?" he asked.

Suddenly, Lois stopped walking. Just as Clark began to think it was because of his mentioning the General, she said, looking at something two blocks ahead:

"Wait!"

Clark looked to see what had her attention and saw two groups of armed boys talking. It was a gang meeting. Suddenly, the one who seemed to be the leader of one group started to speak louder with the other. And, just as suddenly, he raised his gun and shot him so fast that the members of the other group couldn't avoid it.

"Oh my God!" Lois screamed in horror.

"We have to do something" Clark said, while preparing himself to go over there.

"Are you crazy?" she asked, pulling him by the arm. "They are all armed!"

Then, the members of both gangs saw Lois and Clark. Deciding to exterminate the witnesses before finishing the confrontation, they walked in their direction raising their guns. As fast as she could, Lois pulled Clark by the hand and ran. The boys ran after them. But Lois and Clark entered into a dead-end alley. And while Clark prepared himself to the worst, Lois found a door.

"Here, Clark!" she said, trying to open it.

With a little gesture, Clark opened the door, and when they were already inside, he pulled a heavy box to block it.

In the alley, both gangs approached the door and one of them just said:

"I don't know about you guys, but I ain't goin' in this place"

"Me neither" another one said.

And all of them went away.

"I think they're gone" Lois said, relieved, while trying to listen through the door.

"I know why--" Clark said, looking at where they were.

"What Smallville?" and Lois saw they were in a room full of boxes. But that was nothing. There was a table piled high with money and five armed men around it, with pistols and machine guns pointed at both of them. And when Lois and Clark raised their hands, all of them unlocked their weapons at the same time.

Just when Clark thought it was too late, and that he would have to cover Lois to protect her from the shots, something happened:

"Wait a minute!" a short man with thinning hair said, emerging from the midst of all those well dressed and armed guys.

Lois and Clark kept their hands raised and the man said, looking at her:

"Are you The Duchess?"

Lois and Clark looked at each other, confused.

"Well, I--" she said, with a nervous smile. She didn't have any idea who was The Duchess, and whether or not it was a good thing to be her under the circunstances.

Clark looked at her, worried, and waited, hoping she didn't say anything inappropriate.

The guy just smiled and gestured to his accomplices to lower their weapons.

"Of course you are!" he said. "I should have known you'd come!" he added. "I'm Vincent"

Confused, Lois accepted the handshake.

"What about him?" Vincent asked about Clark, who probably was more confused than Lois.

"He?" she asked, looking at him too. "Well, he, er--"

"How could I be so stupid?" Vincent asked to himself.

Lois and Clark thought he had discovered they were impostors, but he continued:

"A person like you MUST have a bodyguard! And he sure is the right size for the job!" he smiled, examining Clark.

Lois smiled in return.

"Yeah. He's my bodyguard" she agreed, also perplexed.

"I'm sure he's something else, too!" Vincent smiled suggestively, and his accomplices smiled too. "We know your reputation, Duchess--"

Lois and Clark looked at each other.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's get to work!" Vincent said.

While Vincent walked over to the table where the other guys were sitting with their weapons, Clark turned around to examine the door he and Lois had come in. There was no way to get out of here. Lois could be seriously injured and that was a risk he didn't want to take.

"Stay cool, Smallville. I'll get us out of here" Lois whispered.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes**: Thanks again to MadDogLane for helping me with the changes I made until now. She's a great beta-reader! Her advice and suggestions have been invaluable. And thanks for all the feedback.

* * *

**CHAPTER 7 **

Lois and Clark walked next to Vincent, who took a file which was on the table. The other guys in the room were just watching them.

"Here" he said to Lois, giving her the file.

"What is this?" she asked, confused.

"Your mission" he answered.

When Lois opened it, she saw some pictures. Clark approached to see what it was, and he saw pictures of a man not much older than himself in front of various restaurants and hotels. The man probably didn't know he was being photographed and he was a man Clark had never seen before. But Lois knew who he was.

"Bruce Wayne?" she asked, trying not to show surprise.

Vincent smiled.

"When Uncle Vitto said you were the best for the job, we decided to call you" he explained.

Lois and Clark faced each other. They finally knew what it was about.

"The good news is that there's no need for it to look like an accident" he continued. "He doesn't have any idea who wants his head"

"So, my mission is--" Lois stuttered.

"And who else we would have called for the job?" Vincent said, laughing.

Suddenly, he stopped laughing and examined her.

"Why aren't you armed?" he asked.

Lois smiled, nervously.

"Why should I be armed?" she asked.

Clark faced her, nervous. Perhaps it hadn't been a good answer, he thought.

But Vincent laughed. And with him, all the other gangsters.

Confused, Lois looked at Clark. Are those guys really so stupid? They were just two kids, and those criminals were thinking they were professional killers? Was this a joke, or what?

"You know what?" Vincent asked, still laughing. "When I heard you were the only one to do the job, I almost didn't believe it. 'Oh my God', I thought, 'I'll finally meet the famous Duchess!' But I didn't imagine you were so young--"

Lois smiled.

"Life is full of surprises!" she said.

"Your're right" he agreed. He stopped smiling, while he followed them to the door. "And maybe later, when you finish your job in Gotham and come back for your payment, we could go out for a dinner or something like that. What do you think?"

Lois smiled, facing Clark, who just shook his head. He couldn't believe this was happening. The entire situation was like a joke.

"Who knows?" she answered.

Clark watched them, carefully. He only hoped Vincent didn't touch Lois, or she would react and the situation could be really complicated. Especially for Vincent.

Suddenly, the gangster looked at Clark.

"Are you--?" he asked.

And before he finished the sentence, Lois answered, with an embarrassed smile:

"No way!"

And Vincent smiled back, satisfied.

"Good" he said. "So, don't forget, when you come back, we're going to dinner in the best Italian restaurant in Metropolis! My uncle's!" he smiled.

Then, Vincent gestured to his accomplices to take the heavy box away from the door.

"Just one more thing" he said, before Lois and Clark went out.

He took back the Bruce Wayne file from Lois' hands.

"No proof" he said, smiling.

She also smiled, and while Clark give her a look to get out of there, she asked:

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure" Vincent answered.

"Who wants Bruce Wayne's head?"

Vincent wasn't smiling anymore, and just when Clark thought he had finally discovered they weren't who he thought they were, the disgusting guy smiled again:

"You're very funny!" he said.

Lois and Clark smiled, nervous.

"In this job, only the victims have names" he explained. "But you know that. And here in Metropolis, your contacts are me and my Uncle Vitto. That's all you need to know"

"Sure" she said. "You're right. I was only wondering who is the person--"

"Don't worry, babe. Besides, you're not paid to think" he interrupted abruptly.

Lois wrinkled her forehead. She didn't like that comment, even though she wasn't the person he thought she was. But before she could say anything else, Clark touched her arm, and pulled her gently out the door. She shook her head, and accepted his suggestion.

"And remember--" Vincent said from the door when Lois and Clark were almost out of the alley.

They stopped walking and turned over to see him.

"You have a month" he said sternly.

Lois didn't say anything, and she and Clark walked away.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

"'_You're not paid to think'_" Lois replied a couple of blocks away with crossed arms against her chest. "Who did he think I was?"

"The Duchess" Clark said.

Lois smiled. That was funny coming from Clark.

"When we come back, we have to discover who wants to kill Bruce Wayne" she said.

"Do you know him?" Clark asked, curious. "I mean, you recognized him from the photo, so--"

"Yes. I know him" she answered, thoughtful.

Surprised, Clark wrinkled his forehead, and before he could ask something else, she said:

"At least, we know Vito Lucchesi is involved. Through him, we can discover who's at the top"

"Why do you think there's someone above him who would want to kill Bruce Wayne?" he asked, confused.

"Because Bruce Wayne is the only heir of an empire" Lois explained. "Wayne Enterprises is a conglomerate that generates billions of investments around the world"

"Like Luthorcorp?"

"More than Luthorcorp" she said.

"Um. You're saying that because you know this Bruce Wayne?" he asked, a little jealous.

"Exactly" she answered with conviction.

Confused with Lois' answer, Clark turned his head toward the sound of some music a few blocks away.

"What's that noise?" he asked.

"Do you have super-hearing or what? I don't hear anything!" she replied.

Suddenly, Lois heard the noise too.

"Well, we're still in Suicide Slum, so, if it's not a shoot out, it sounds like a party" she said.

And it was. They crossed the street and saw that there was a party on the 6th floor of an old building with loud music and lots of people. Some of them were walking around the street, carrying bottles of beer and smoking cigarettes.

"Our problems are over, Smallville!" Lois said, approaching them.

"Hey, Lois! I don't think it's time for partying!" he replied in vain.

Lois just smiled and walked away.

"Lois!" he tried again.

She didn't listen to him, so he decided to follow her.

"Hey, gorgeous" a guy said to her, next to the door of the building where the party was happening. But Lois ignored him and entered the building.

"Wow, I'm sorry!" the guy added when he saw Clark walked past him after Lois, looking him straight in the eye.

"Lois!" he called her again, while they quickly passed several people drinking and smoking in the stairs.

Suddenly, a girl spilled beer on Clark's T-shirt.

"Hey, be careful!" she yelled, completely tipsy, and after looking at him again, added: "Handsome"

Clark just took a deep breath, closed his jacket and looked all around to see where Lois was. But he had lost her. Worried, he went up the stairs until he got to the floor where the party was. He needed to find her as soon as he could and get out of there.

At last, he saw the party was happening in a small apartment where lots of young people were talking loudly over noisy music.

Clark looked all around, but there was no sign of Lois. So, he used his super-hearing to locate her.

Suddenly, he heard her voice next to the window.

"I'll be so glad if you could do that for me" she was saying to a guy who seemed very interested in her, judging by the way he examined her form with a bottle of beer in his hands. When it seemed the guy was leaning toward her for a kiss, Clark approached them as quickly as he could.

"Hey Smallville!" Lois said when she saw him.

The guy who was with her went away.

"Hi. Are you having enough fun?" he scoffed.

Lois smiled.

"Well, this is not my kind of party" she explained.

"Yeah right" he replied, not believing her.

But she smiled.

"Lois?" he asked, serious.

"What?" she replied.

"We have to leave!" he said.

"Sorry Smallville, you have to speak a little louder," she said, having fun with the situation.

Suddenly, the guy who was with Lois before approached them, bringing a telephone, which he gave it to her.

"Thank you, Bob!" she said, facing Clark, and then turning around to use the telephone next to the window, where there wasn't much noise.

Surprised, Clark just smiled. He didn't know Lois as much as he imagined.

"Chlo? Finally!" she said on the phone.

"Oh my God, Lois! Where are you?" Chloe asked. "Did Clark find you?"

"Oh yes, I don't know how, but he's just right here" she answered looking at him.

"What is that noise?"

"The only place where we found a telephone. Where are you?"

"In front of the Police Station! You simply disappeared!" Chloe explained.

"Chlo, you have to get us out of here. We're still in Suicide Slum"

"What about your car?" Chloe asked.

"Long story" Lois said.

"Ok. Tell me exactly where you are" Chloe asked.

"Um. Let me see--" Lois said, leaning her head away from the window to see the sign at the next corner. But it was too far from them to be able to read.

"West State Street" Clark said, next to her, after reading the sign.

"West State Street" Chloe memorized.

"Wow, good eyes, Smallville!" Lois said, impressed. "There's a party here. Not difficult to find it"

"Ok. So, be alert, 'cause I don't want to park there and then have to look for you" Chloe said.

"See you later, Chlo"

Then, Lois looked at Clark, and said:

"She's on her way"

Clark let out a deep breath. The nightmare was ending.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

"What a great night, huh?" Lois asked Clark with a big smile on her face while they walked down the street to the next corner to wait for Chloe.

Clark answered her with a little smile.

He didn't know what to say.

He was still too impressed with her.

Despite all the disagreements and discussions they had in the past, she wasn't exactly what he imagined.

Instead, she was a great person… a woman capable of risking her own life in search for the truth.

He didn't want to admit it, but he really liked the real Lois Lane.

"Lois, I'd like to say sorry for earlier, I was very--" he started to say, but before he could finish it, Lois interrupted him:

"Wait" she said, staring at something in the other side of the street.

Clark turned his head in the direction where Lois was looking at and saw someone disappearing around the next corner.

"It's our guy!" Lois said, running away.

"What--?" Clark asked, confused.

But it was too late to stop her.

"Lois!" he called her, in vain. "What about Chloe?"

"C'mon Smallville! We can catch him!" she yelled, looking back at him over her shoulder.

Clark sighed deeply. He could solve all that by himself. But, with Lois involved, he didn't have many options, except to follow her and see what would happen next.

* * *

Next to The Ace O'Clubs, Lois and Clark stopped, shocked.

"I can't believe we came all the way back here!" Clark said, after they saw the stranger enter into the club.

Lois didn't say anything, and when they went inside the club too, they saw the place wasn't so bad. There were a few people and two security guards.

"Can you see him?" Lois asked.

Clark used his x-ray vision and saw someone wearing a long coat, washing his hands in the men's bathroom.

"I think he's in the bathroom", Clark said.

Lois glanced at him, surprised with his supposition and gave him a push:

"So, what are you waiting for? Get in there and check it out!"

Surprised, he looked at her, and she said:

"What's up, Smallville? I obviously can't do that!"

Clark rolled his eyes and did what she asked.

"Do you wanna drink something?" the barman asked Lois.

Lois faced him. In other circumstances, it would have been a good idea.

"Hey, are you Bibbo Bibbowski? The pugilist?" Lois asked him, remembering his face from somewhere.

"In another lifetime!" he answered, with a big smile, happy for being recognized by the young lady.

"It's not every day that we can find a weight-heavy champion!" she said, impressed.

"Those days are over" he said, cleaning a glass.

Lois smiled and sat in front of him, watching the movement of people. Although it was in Suicide Slum, The Ace O'Clubs wasn't a bad place.

"Where are you from?" he asked.

"What?" she asked back.

"You're not from around here, right?"

"It's that obvious, huh?"

"I hope you're not looking for trouble," he warned her, with a little smile.

"No. I hope not, too" she answered, looking in the direction of the restrooms.

Clark opened the door of the bathroom and a man was in front of the mirror. He realized he hadn't seen his face, so he couldn't know for sure if he was the guy who attacked Lois. Judging from his coat, which seemed to be same as the one that her aggressor was wearing, he guessed that this was the man they were looking for.

Suddenly, the man saw Clark staring at him, and turned around to leave. But Clark blocked his way.

"You're the guy who was on the rooftop of that abandoned building, right?" he asked, taking his chances.

The man took a gun from his coat and pointed it at Clark, who stepped back.

"You could have killed my friend" he said.

"Yeah. I could've. But I didn't" he replied, with his husky voice.

"You attacked her" Clark said.

"She shouldn't have been there in first place"

"So, you expected to hurt my other friend, Chloe Sullivan?" Clark asked.

The man kept the gun raised, and looked Clark in the eyes.

"Do you know her?"

"What do you want?" Clark asked back.

"So, I guess I don't have any other choice" the man said, putting the gun down and taking something from his pocket.

"What are doing?" Clark asked, worried.

But the man showed him a brown envelope.

"I want you give this to her"

Distrustful, Clark took the envelope.

"What is this?"

The man gave a little smile, which then changed to a look of deep sadness.

"The truth" he answered.

"What is the reason for all of this?"

"I don't have enough time to explain. She has courage. And she will know what to do with this" he answered, looking at the envelope in Clark's hand.

Clark faced him. There was something strange about this man. He had a tired looking face, but he didn't seem to be tired.

"Who are you?" he asked, finally.

"A shadow" the man answered, with a sad smile.

"Clark!" yelled Lois, beating on the door.

Clark turned to look at the door, and when he looked back again at the man, he was escaping out the window.

"Wait! If you're in trouble, we can go to he police!" Clark said, grabbing hold of his arm. But the man was stronger than Clark expected and he just shoved him back against the wall, breaking it.

"No one can help me!" the man said before running away.

"Who was that?" Lois asked, opening the door abruptly.

"Take this" Clark said to Lois, giving her the envelope and running past her. "I have to try to catch him!" and he kept running.

Scared, Lois caught the envelope and ran after him.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes: **Well, that's it. The final chapter. I hope you like it. Thank you again MadDogLane for all the help you've provided me. And thank you all for the feedback. I wouldn't have finished without you.

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**CHAPTER 10 **

"It's too late, Smallville!" Lois said, a few steps behind Clark. "We lost him!"

Clark stopped on the sidewalk, and looked at around with his x-ray vision. She was right. There wasn't anything else to be done.

With Lois around, of course, he couldn't use his powers to find the mysterious man. Maybe it was better this way. After all, he didn't want to put Lois in danger any more, and they really had been through more than enough adventures for one night!

But something still bothered him. There was something not right about that man. As if he had a special ability. No one could jump off of one building onto another like he did. Then, he had simply disappeared after that crazy escape from the club's bathroom window.

"Who was he?" Lois asked, approaching him.

Clark turned his face to look at her over his shoulder.

"I don't know" he answered.

"Really?" she asked back, with a suspicious smile. "'Cause you talked to him--"

Clark looked Lois in the eye and she continued:

"...in the bathroom. So, what did he say?"

"He didn't say anything important, Lois. But it's got to be something related to the envelope he gave us" he pointed to her jacket, where the envelope was hidden.

"OK, so, let's check it out" she said, picking it up and opening it.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Lois--" he warned her. Clark didn't want Lois involved in any more trouble because of Lex or someone else.

But it was too late. She had already opened the envelope. Clark watched her face and he saw an expression of great surprise.

"What?" he asked, approaching her.

There were documents with Luthorcorp logo inside. Projects and research. Things that Clark had already found out about through Milton Fine and Arthur Curry.

"That's it" she said, with a little smile. "It looks like someone did their homework"

Lois gave some of the documents she had looked over to Clark, and he read information there about experiments on both human beings and animals. It was all recent. There was also something about Level 33.1.

Clark took a deep breath. Lex wasn't any different from his father. He kept pursuing the dangerous experiments Lionel had opened up in the past, but on a much higher level.

"This is probably just the tip of the iceberg!" Lois said, gathering all the documents and placing them back in the envelope.

Clark was thoughtful, while he handed Lois back the documents he had been examining.

"I'm sorry" she said, looking him in the eyes.

More than anything, Lois knew how difficult this situation must be to Clark. After all, he was Lex's friend and to face the truth about him was probably a hard blow. However, Clark didn't seem to be shaken. He was a little disconcerted, but not shaken. Over the last two years, his relationship with Lex had changed. The man who called himself Clark's friend had revealed who he really was years before. He promised to change, but Clark had never again been able to trust him fully. Now, he had the proof that Lex truly hadn't changed, and that there really was no more hope for his former friend. Everybody had been right about Lex.

Clark took a deep breath and faced Lois with a little smile.

"Let's go home" he said.

She smiled back.

A few blocks later, while they walked silently, a red volkswagen stopped next to them.

"I thought I'd never see you two again!"

"Chlo!" Lois said, happy to see her cousin.

Chloe smiled back. It was such a relief to see they were safe and well. And while Lois and Clark were getting into the car, she saw not only the brown envelope that Lois carried, but something different about both her cousin and her best friend. More than just exhaustion, she was sure they had been through a lot of things together that night.

------------------------------------------

"Who could this guy be?" Chloe asked, looking at the documents spread out on the kitchen table in Lois' apartment in Metrópolis.

"I have no idea. But there was something about him that I can't explain--" Clark said, crossing his arms. "When I asked who he was, he said he was a shadow"

"He had to be running away from something" Lois added. "Or somebody"

"You said that he jumped off the top of one building and onto another" Chloe said. "How did he do that?"

"He just jumped" Lois answered. It was impossible to explain.

"And then he simply disappeared" Clark concluded.

Chloe faced him. For Clark to be saying that, it had to be because the guy really had some special ability.

"Perhaps he was the result of some Luthorcorp experiment" she deduced.

"Or another meteor freak?" Lois asked. "It makes sense. But if he is so super, why would he use a weapon?"

"You're right" Chloe agreed.

"Maybe he is only a little faster" Clark suggested.

Chloe tilted her head, considering the possibility.

"But he didn't know what he was doing when he gave you guys these documents" she said.

"What do you mean?" Lois asked, confused.

"In the first place, we can't simply present these documents to the media " Chloe explained.

"Why not?" Lois asked.

"Some of these documents have Lex's signature!" Clark added.

"_No_ periodical, much less the Daily Planet, would accept this type of article as news without an official source, _especially_ an anonymous one" Chloe explained. "Sorry guys. There's no solid base for a big news story. And these documents, well, they've been stolen from Luthorcorp! Can you imagine what kind of problems that could present?"

Lois faced Clark.

"She's right. We have to investigate this deeper"

"What?" Clark asked, confused.

"We don't have the actual names of the people involved in these experiments" Chloe continued, examining the documents. "We know that it's all about tests on human beings and animals, but they are only identified by numbers. The only legible name is Lex Luthor's. He should be more careful. Hopefully, he wasn't. We have a lot of work to do... And I was thinking maybe we should start with this Level 33.1--"

Chloe raised her eyes to look at Lois and Clark, and asked:

"What do you think?"

"I'm totally in" Lois answered.

Then, the two girls looked at Clark, who didn't seem too happy with the decision.

"I don't know. I think we should leave this to the police. It's too dangerous" he said.

"You know the police won't do anything, Smallville" Lois said.

"Lois is right, Clark" Chloe agreed. "It's Lex we're talking about. Remember?"

Clark took a deep breath. They were right.

"Ok. You can count on me" he firmly said.

"Good" Chloe said. "I'm going to start to investigating the information in these documents first thing tomorrow morning"

"And what about that other problem?" Lois asked.

"What problem?" Chloe asked back, confused.

"Bruce Wayne" Lois answered.

"I think that's a problem the police _can_ solve" Clark said. "We know the Lucchesis are involved. We just need to give the police the information we have"

Chloe looked at Lois who explained:

"Vito and Vincent Lucchesi are small fish, Smallville. There's someone bigger behind them who wants to kill Bruce Wayne. And they will never give the police his name, because they probably don't even _know_ his name. Anyway, they're too stupid. You saw that for yourself"

"So, what do you suggest?" Clark asked.

"Go to Gotham City to investigate" she answered.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Chloe asked, curious.

"Visiting Bruce Wayne" Lois explained.

"What makes you think Bruce Wayne is going to receive you?" Chloe asked with a smile.

"It seems Lois is an old friend of his" Clark said.

"You never told me that, Lo" Chloe said.

"Lois is full of surprises" Clark explained, cynical.

"It's a long story, Chlo. But I can do it. I can go to Gotham next week to solve this. What do you think?"

"I think you shouldn't go alone" Chloe said. "If somebody ordered the death of one of the richest men of the world, this person is certainly going to be monitoring everything in connection with him very closely."

"What are you gonna say to your boss to get her to let you go with me?" Lois asked.

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked. "I was talking about Clark"

"What?" they both asked.

"I won't be able to go with you, Lois" Chloe explained, surprise with their reaction. "Kahn would never authorize my absence at the Planet. She's my boss, remember? Anyway, I have to go investigate these documents!"

Lois and Clark looked at each other. They didn't seem to be happy with this alternative. But it seemed they didn't have a choice.

"Besides" Chloe continued, facing them "you two made a good team together tonight. I have a strangely good feeling about this!"

THE END

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**Author's Notes:** Don't hate me, people. As I told to MadDogLane, who did an excellent work as a beta-reader, there's a sequel. I can't say more about it. So, stay tune. 


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